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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. key — in music
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wake — a trail
  6. march — the month
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pit — a hole
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. key — for a lock
  15. pound — a weight
  16. ground — a position
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. pit — in a race
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bulb — for light
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com